Daily Report

Feb. 2, 2011

Next X-37B Launch About a Month Away

The Air Force’s second X-37B reusable spaceplane, OTV-2, is now at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., as preparations continue for its maiden space launch scheduled for March 4. Spaceflight Now reports that OTV-2’s on-orbit activities will be classified much like the...

No “I” in Reserve Team

Reserve personnel across the five branches of the US armed forces cooperate more closely and are better suited to defend the United States than ever before, said Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Air Force Reserve chief. “When I think about where...

Untapped Civilian Skills

The Air Force must make better use of the specialized skills of airmen within USAF’s reserve components, said Maj. Gen. William Etter, Air National Guard deputy director. “I think one of the untapped resources in the Guard and [Air Force]...

Minnesota Air Guardsmen Conduct Live-Fire Training

Members of the Minnesota Air National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth are at Tyndall AFB, Fla., with their recently acquired F-16 Block 50 aircraft for two weeks of rigorous air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions training. Tyndall’s 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group...

WTO Rules in Subsidies Case Dealing with Boeing

The World Trade Organization has ruled that Boeing has received US government and state aid that violates international trade rules, according to press reports. It’s the latest salvo in the US-European Union trade dispute over large aircraft subsidies that some...

Hawker Teams with Salina Airport in Light Attack Bid

Hawker Beechcraft of Wichita, Kan., has signed an agreement with the Salina Airport Authority in Salina, Kan., to use the airport and its airspace to train Air Force pilots and maintainers if the company wins the contract to supply USAF’s...

Military Suicides a Portent of Societal Ill

Suicide is not merely a military problem, said Army Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, acting director of the Army National Guard. “It’s society at large,” he said in remarks Monday at the Reserve Officers Association’s national security symposium in Washington, D.C....

Another Apparent Russian Launch Failure

A Russian military mapping satellite apparently failed to reach its intended orbit on Tuesday and may be declared lost. AFP reports that Russian defense ministry officials confirmed that they were still trying to establish contact with Geo-IK-2 after its launch...

More Turkish Lightning?

Turkey’s defense minister Vecdi Gonul announced that the country may increase the number of F-35 strike fighters for its air force to 116, reports UPI. Gonul stated that Turkey intends to procure 100 aircraft, with potential for another 16 airframes....

B-57, C-7 Go Back on Display in Dayton

Crews at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, have finished restoring a Vietnam War-era Martin B-57B Canberra bomber and a De Havilland C-7A Caribou transport aircraft and returned them to the museum’s Southeast Asia War...